Effects of a nano-structured surface layer on titanium implants for osteoblast proliferation activity

Abstract

The goal of this study is to compare surface morphologies on dental implants created by a range of five different surface-modification technologies and, in addition, cell assays to assess the subsequent cell proliferation on each treated surface. In our research, we surface-treated 5 mm-diameter – 2 mm-thick discs, machined from Grade 1 titanium. We treated the surfaces of the discs with chemical etching, electro-polishing, Al2O3 sandblasting, and surface melting with 1 Joule or 3 Joule impulse-energy laser beam. We carried out quantitative as well as qualitative analyses with stereo and scanning electron microscopes (SEM), confocal and atomic force microscopes (AFM) and goniometer. We examined each surface with cell-testing, as a measure of osseointegration. In tests with fibroblasts, the highest cell proliferation occurred on the Al2O3-roughened surfaces. In the case of osteoblasts, we measured the greatest cell activity on the laser-melted samples with different energy levels.